


What a Catch

by mousapelli



Category: Kingdom Hearts
Genre: Alternate Universe - Merpeople, M/M, Magic, the seaweed is always greener on the other side
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-08
Updated: 2020-03-08
Packaged: 2021-02-28 19:34:50
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,625
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23062549
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mousapelli/pseuds/mousapelli
Summary: Sora is gonna court Riku, even if Riku is a human and does not understand any of Sora's mer courtship presents. He has a plan! Roxas might have a heart attack.
Relationships: Riku/Sora (Kingdom Hearts)
Comments: 31
Kudos: 250





	What a Catch

**Author's Note:**

  * For [foxdreams](https://archiveofourown.org/users/foxdreams/gifts).



> Kristin has a cold and I don't want to work on my thesis prospectus anymore. I wrote this instead.

Sora lurked behind the end of the jetty, tail swishing impatiently enough to churn up tiny bubbles. Why was the tide taking so long to go in? Why hadn't he seen Riku yet? Usually the human was sitting on the edge of the tidal pool when Sora showed up, but today the shore was empty except for some squabbling seagulls. 

Huffing impatience, Sora flopped over the lowest rock of the jetty. Of course today of all days would be the day Riku was late…Sora hoped that was all it was. It wasn't like Sora could understand anything Riku said in human. What if he'd tried to tell Sora to meet him some other time? Or that he wasn't coming today? Or—

"THERE you are!" Roxas snapped behind Sora, making him yelp in surprise and slip off the rock with a splash. "You really are up here looking for that dumb human, aren't you?"

"N-no!" Sora sputtered, nudging the small bag he had slung over his shoulder behind his back. 

"Uh-huh," Roxas said, skeptical. Quicker than an eel, Roxas darted around Sora to grab the bag, slapping Sora's hand away with a flick of his fins. "And next you'll tell me this isn't something for him?"

"Give that back!" Sora darted after Roxas. They scuffled for a few moments, until Sora had the bundle clutched protectively to his chest. Roxas crossed his arms, eyebrow raised. Sora's shoulders slumped in defeat. "Fine, it's for him."

"Are you an actual dumbass?" Roxas demanded, elbow fins flaring. "You can't court a human!"

"Can so!" Sora insisted. "Or I'm trying to, anyway!"

"And how is that going?" Roxas asked. 

"Terrible," Sora said, slumping back against the rock. "He can't see my sexy tail display under the water. He didn't eat the eels I brought him, wouldn't even touch the jellyfish, and he keeps putting the starfish back in the water. I think he liked the really round pebbles I found him, though, he kept those…oh, there he is!" Sora pushed himself up higher on the rock, waving wildly. 

Roxas peered over the rock more cautiously. Past the stretch of sand the tide hadn't filled in yet, and the tidal pool, a silver-haired human was waving back. 

"Sora…" Roxas shook his head. "I don't think he even knows you're trying to court him. Humans aren't that smart, you know."

"He's so pretty, though." Sora heaved a lovesick sigh, trailing one finger through the water in little circles. "You can't have everything."

"I don't see it." Roxas squinted and tilted his head. "He's so dry. And he can't understand anything you say!"

"Not for long! I've got a plan," Sora informed Roxas, pushing himself back into the water. He ran wet hands over his hair, smoothing it down; several chunks popped immediately back out. "How do I look?"

"Like a nudibranch having a bad hair day," Roxas said flatly. "Sora—"

"Don't worry, I know what I'm doing." Sora dove into the water before Roxas could argue, zipping away with a kick of his blue tail fins. 

He knew he couldn't explain it to Roxas, but Sora was sure Riku was the one he wanted, human or not. Ever since the night of the storm, when Sora had rescued an unconscious Riku from the wreckage of a sailboat and dragged him to shore, ever since Riku had blinked up at him with eyes greener than sunlight through kelp, Sora hadn't been able to think about anything else. Sure, Riku couldn't understand his clicks or song, but none of the mers in their pod had ever sent shivers the whole way down to his tailfins, either. 

The tide was finally high enough that Sora could make it across the sandbar and into the tidal pool. He had to pick his way carefully across the still-shallow stretch to keep from scraping his belly or from snagging the bag still clutched in his hands, but he made it, tumbling down into the deeper water of the pool with relief. When he popped up to the surface again, Riku was a lot closer, picking his way past the shallowest part of the pool where it wasn't comfortable for Sora to hang out. 

They met in the middle, Riku sitting down on the slick edge of the rocks to put his feet in the water, Sora clicking excitedly. He really liked Riku's voice, even if he couldn't understand him, liked the way it was low and soothing like the steadily rolling waves. Riku had a bag too, and Sora watched curiously as Riku dug around in it, Sora using his arms to heft himself out of the water higher to see better. Sora was dripping water all over Riku, but Riku made that cute noise in the back of his throat and pushed Sora back so that he fell back into the water with a splash. 

Riku found what he wanted and pulled it out, offering it to Sora. It was a flat piece of the book Riku often had with him; Sora understood about books a little from finding them in shipwrecks, but knew they were ruined easily in the ocean. He'd learned the hard way he wasn't supposed to splash or touch the book Riku had with him usually. But this piece was wrapped in something smooth and clear, so that Sora could see the flat piece without the water on his hands ruining it. Sora beamed up at Riku in amazement; his human was smart after all!

Making that noise in this throat again, Riku reached out and flipped the book piece over in Sora's hands. There were drawings on the other side, several sketches in the corners and one more detailed drawing in the center. Sora's mouth fell open as he recognized himself; he'd known Riku drew the shells and crabs and starfish Sora brought up to him from the bottom of the pool, but he'd had no idea Riku was sketching him as well. He'd captured Sora in attentive detail, from the way his drying hair often stuck up like a lazy starfish, to the delicate scales that trailed down the back of his neck, to the slight curl of his trailing adipose and tail fins. 

Sora looked up and found Riku watching for his reaction. Riku was talking more softly, more shyly, and pink was creeping across his cheeks. He was changing color, like zebrafish did during spawning season, Sora realized. Riku was trying to court him too! Setting his present carefully on the rocks next to Riku, Sora grabbed for his bag, so excited that it took him a couple tries to fumble it open. 

Eventually he managed, pulling out two squashy packages wrapped up in seaweed, and pushed one of them into Riku's hands. Riku glanced from the package to Sora as he carefully fiddled the seaweed apart to reveal several chunks of tuna. Sora had hunted the tuna himself that morning, like a proper potential mate should, and brought Riku the best pieces, fresh and still cold from being in the deep ocean. Sora knew for a fact that humans ate tuna, even raw, but somehow was unsurprised when Riku tilted his head in obvious confusion. 

Sora was prepared for this. He opened his own package and made a big show out of picking out a piece of tuna, shoved it in his mouth, and chewed while trilling happily. For a second Riku still hesitated, but then at last picked up a piece and took a bite, then two. Sora could have yelled out of relief that finally one of his gifts had been accepted properly. Sora busily ate the rest of his own snack, trying not to be too obvious about watching Riku, making sure that he ate all the pieces. 

There was one more surprise that Sora had up his sleeve. 

It didn't happen right away. Naminé had warned him that it wouldn't, but as the sun sank lower in the sky, Sora got more and more anxious that it wouldn't work at all. But finally Riku paused in the middle of talking, putting a hand to his forehead. He was even pinker than before, Sora noticed, although he didn't know whether that was a good or bad sign. Riku swayed a little, then pitched forward; Sora caught him to make sure his head didn't go underwater until everything had finished. 

"Riku?" Sora asked when Riku went limp in his arms. Panic started amping up his heart rate, worried suddenly that he'd done something terrible, that he'd wrecked everything. He shook Riku. "Riku, wake up! Please be ok!"

"Wh…at?" Riku stirred, eyes a little glazed as he peeled them open to look up at Sora. 

"Thank goodness!" Sora exclaimed, throwing arms around Riku's neck to squeeze him tight. "You scared me!"

"I got really dizzy…wait, you're talking!" Riku pushed Sora back, eyes wide. 

"Well, yeah. I've _been_ talking," Sora pointed out. He rushed on before Riku could respond. "Listen, don't be mad, but I have this friend, Naminé, and she's kind of a sea witch and I might have maybe got a potion from her to put on your tuna to turn you into a mer."

"You…might have…" Riku trailed off as he looked down at himself, the crystal clear water hiding nothing. His fingers tightened on Sora's shoulders, tight enough to maybe bruise. 

Sora looked too, and _wow_. Riku's tail was blue, the darkest blue-black of the deep ocean at the top, gradually turning lighter blue towards his fins, all of it lit with blue iridescence in the sunlight. His fins were long and fine, blood red turning back to dark blue at the tips and edges. A reflective stripe lined his hips on either side, another pair of stripes running from his wrists up to his shoulders, the same bright teal as his eyes. He was so beautiful Sora felt like he might cry from it, bigger and stronger than Sora's shallow ocean breed, like the powerful deep ocean mers who roamed the whole ocean on deep currents.

But when Sora finally looked back up, Riku's face was tight and scared, his elbow fins flared in alarm. Guilt immediately filled Sora's chest, and fear that he'd done something terrible, something Riku wouldn't forgive him for. 

"I'm sorry I didn't ask you first, but I couldn't," he said. Tears started welling up, to Sora's embarrassment, but he didn't dare let go of Riku's arms to wipe them away. "I just wanted to talk to you, so I could tell you I was trying to court you, I'm sorry…" Sora's throat closed up at that point, choking off the rest of his apology. 

"Don't cry!" Riku said, if anything more panicked. "I wanted to talk to you too, so don't cry. This is just, it's a lot, it's…I have a tail."

"Yeah." Sora sniffled, daring to let go with just one hand to scrub at his face. "It's really nice."

"Is it?" Riku asked, sounding so confused that Sora struggled not to click in amusement at him. "I like yours, too. I mean, it's nice, the blue is so pretty and your fins are nice and you're…"

"Nice?" Sora asked, unable to keep from teasing any longer. Riku buried his face in his hands and groaned in embarrassment. Now that Sora could actually read his body language of flared fins and fidgeting tail, Sora was being slowly murdered by how adorably awkward Riku was. 

Riku peeked out at him between his fingers. "Is it permanent?"

"No, no!" Sora shook his head. "I wouldn't do that! Naminé said we should have three days. But if you want to change back, I understand. If we go see her she can probably undo it?"

Riku visibly relaxed. "If I don't change back, will you show me where you live? Tell me more about yourself?"

"Yes!" Sora swam around Riku in an excited circle, grabbing for Riku's hand on the way past. "Come on! We have to get out of this tidal pool before the tide falls anyway. I want to show you _everything_ , and hunt fish with you and you gotta meet my brother Roxas and my best friend Kairi and see the coral blooms—"

Sora kept up a stream of breathless chatter the entire time he was helping Riku skim carefully over the sandbar with his bigger body type. It was as if all the words he'd been trying to tell Riku had been bottled up inside him until he was a great big puffer fish, and only now could he finally let them out. 

"You said you were trying to court me?" Riku interrupted eventually, once they were out in the open sea and he'd gotten his bearings enough to use his powerful tail without dragging Sora along like a pull-toy. "Court me, like you like me?"

"Yeah," Sora answered, shy now that he was being asked directly. "I brought you all that stuff. Even though you didn't like most of it."

Riku nodded, expression serious. "If I went back to being human, would you still want to court me?"

"Of course!" Sora squeezed Riku's hand tighter. "I did it while you were human all this time, didn't I? Only maybe you'd better tell me some stuff humans like before you change back."

"And what if I don't want to change back?" Riku asked, surprising Sora into silence. 

"If that's what you wanted," he said, trying to ignore the big, wobbly bubbles of hope that were rising in his chest like the air from a deep water vent. "But Riku's Riku, to me. So you don't have to decide now, because I'll still like you no matter what."

"That's…" Riku squirmed, creating enough drag against the water that they slowed down. He pulled on Sora's hand so that they were face to face, scrutinizing Sora's expression. "How do you know that? We just met. We've never talked before today. How can you know anything?"

Sora surged forward, pressing their lips together. He'd never kissed anyone before, but he didn't let that stop him. They seemed to fit perfectly despite their size difference, or maybe because of it, Riku's arms warm and secure against his back where they curled automatically. Sora wanted to touch Riku everywhere at once, cupping his cheeks, running fingertips down the delicate scales along his neck, brushing across his elbow fins, palms finally settling on his hips right where Riku's skin turned into sleek blue scales. Riku slide one of his hands up into Sora's hair, hand so big he could palm the back of Sora's head, and Sora went boneless as a jellyfish against him, trilling approval so deep in his chest that it was less a sound than a vibration passing from his chest to Riku's. 

"Oh my _god_ ," said a horrified voice behind them, making Riku and Sora snap apart guiltily. It was Roxas, looking the maddest that Sora had ever seen him, including the time that Sora had filled Roxas's whole nest with clams. "What did you _do_?"

"Oh sunfish," Sora muttered, trying to edge just a little behind Riku. "Riku, this is my brother Roxas, Roxas this is—"

"I obviously know who he is!" Roxas snapped. "When I said you couldn't court a human, I didn't mean do this instead! Dad is going to kill you."

"Dad?" Riku asked, fins flaring nervously. 

"Oh, did he forget to mention?" Roxas asked acidly. "Our father is Yen Sid, king of the ocean, and this doofus is a prince."

"Surprise?" Sora offered when Riku eyed him. "So hey, here's an idea, what would you think if instead of you staying a mer, Naminé turned me human instead?"

**Author's Note:**

> Riku is a betta fish and no I am not sorry. A Way to the Dawn colored betta fish.


End file.
